BAHistory of Art & Visual Culture
Learn to think critically and write eloquently about historical and contemporary art.
Overview
Traditional art history meets modern visual culture
The History of Art and Visual Culture program challenges you to think and write critically about the past, present, and future of visual culture. You’ll learn to analyze art objects and artifacts of pop culture from the perspectives of historian, theorist, writer, and maker. Positioned within one of the best art and design schools in the country, you’ll work alongside fine artists from many different disciplines, not to mention our renowned faculty, who frequently contribute to high-profile publications and curate exhibitions around the globe. Alumni leverage these connections and opportunities to lay the groundwork for their personal practices.
Studios & Shops
Hands-on experiences
You’ll take History of Art and Visual Culture courses alongside interdisciplinary studios, a unique opportunity to directly engage with material practices you want to research. Our curriculum also features a number of open electives to give you the freedom to handle and make art objects. Through field trips and seminar discussions, classes examine an even wider range of visual material, from ancient architecture to video games, analyzing and contextualizing what you see within broader social and historical phenomena.
CCA 2021 HAVC Spring Symposium
Preparing for professional publication
You’ll culminate your classroom and studio work with a senior thesis project, designed to mirror the rigorous methodologies in professional settings. The thesis-driven research paper, which is transformed into a symposium presentation, can also be submitted as part of a grant or graduate school application. In addition to working closely with the History of Art and Visual Culture faculty throughout this process, you’ll get feedback from visiting curators, historians, gallerists, and even CCA alumni.
Your research and writing life at CCA
- Analyze art objects through observation and research
- Build visual and cultural literacy skills
- Think and write critically
- Visit renowned museums and galleries
- Learn from visiting artists, scholars, and critics
- Network with journalists, conservators, and art dealers
- Take electives in fine arts, design, and writing
- Write a research-driven thesis paper
- Present your thesis at our annual symposium
Additional creative resources
Faculty
Work with leaders in the field
Our faculty are practicing scholars, museum professionals, and critics. Their collective expertise spans disciplines, including experimental cinema, creative writing, architectural and urban history, fashion theory and design, comparative literature, and graphic design. Deeply engaged with the art world, they’re dedicated to sharing their knowledge—from curation to publishing—with History of Art and Visual Culture students.
Nilgun Bayraktar, Chair of History of Art & Visual Culture
Nilgun Bayraktar is a film and visual culture scholar specializing in the intersections between cinema, art, and cross-border mobility. Her research has been published in numerous academic journals and edited volumes. She is the co-editor of Rethinking Defamiliarization in Literature and Visual Culture (Palgrave 2024) and author of Cinema Beyond Europe (Routledge 2018), which examines cinematic and artistic representations of migration and mobility in Europe since the 1990s.
Her current book project, Border Futurities, explores speculative imagination, counter-memory, and futurity in contemporary art and film. She received a BA in Cultural Studies from Sabanci University, Istanbul, and a PhD in Performance & Film Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Curriculum
We think with our hands
Explore beyond the boundaries of traditional art history
History of Art and Visual Culture at CCA expands the perspective of cultural critique by studying everything from art and architecture to fashion and social media. You’ll learn from professional curators, historians, and critics how to think, write, and speak eloquently about the visual culture that surrounds you. The program culminates with a senior thesis you present professionally. View sample course descriptions.
Investigate ideas through every dimension
Before diving into their chosen major, every undergraduate participates in the First Year Experience. Students explore a wide range of materials and tools over the course of two semesters. Faculty from different disciplines guide studio projects, group critiques, and theoretical discussions, setting students up for success throughout their major coursework.
BA History of Art & Visual Culture
Core Studio
- Drawing 1
- 3.0 units
- 2D, 3D, and 4D
- 9.0 units
History of Art and Visual Culture Major Requirements
- Eye Openers
- 3.0 units
- Contemporary Art
- 3.0 units
- Methodologies 1
- 3.0 units
- History of Art and Visual Culture (2000 level)
- 9.0 units
- History of Art and Visual Culture (3000 level)
- 12.0 units
- Vision and Visuality
- 3.0 units
- History of Art and Visual Culture Practicum
- 3.0 units
- Senior Project 1
- 3.0 units
- Senior Project 2
- 3.0 units
Additional Studio Requirements
- Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studio
- 3.0 units
- Critical Ethnic Studies Studio
- 3.0 units
- Studio Electives
- 9.0 units
- Open Electives
- 9.0 units
Humanities & Sciences Requirements
- Writing 1
- 3.0 units
- Writing 2
- 3.0 units
- Introduction to the Arts
- 3.0 units
- Introduction to the Modern Arts
- 3.0 units
- Foundation in Critical Studies
- 3.0 units
- Critical Ethnic Studies Seminar (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Literary and Performing Arts Studies (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Philosophy and Critical Theory (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Social Science/History (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Science/Math (2000 level)
- 3.0 units
- Humanities and Sciences Electives (2000 or 3000 level, at least 6 units must be 3000 level, excluding Visual Studies)
- 12.0 units
Total 120.0 units
Careers
Fluent in visual culture
Our students apply their skills in research-based critical writing, publishing, and art curation to myriad roles in the field. Some students go on to attend graduate and PhD programs, and others engage in political activism or become independent gallerists. Wherever they are, they ask challenging questions of themselves and the world.
Potential career paths
- Critic and writer
- Gallerist
- Curatorial assistant
- Museum education assistant
- Assistant archivist
- Arts administrator
- Educator
- Creative writer
- Arts publisher
- Professional at a nonprofit arts institution
News & Events
What’s happening in our community?
How to Apply
Expanding perspectives
Our students love art, design, and visual culture. They often want to share this passion through writing, curating, and teaching. Most importantly, History of Art and Visual Culture students want to contribute to the field in a way that’s inclusive and groundbreaking.
Find your creative community at CCA
